New UC chief Napolitano draws admiration, ire during UCI visit

UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake and new UC President Janet Napolitano hustle to a closed-door meeting Monday on Napolitano's two-day tour of the Irvine university. MINDY SCHAUER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

IRVINE – With her minivan idling steps away, Janet Napolitano strolled over to two students eating lunch outside UC Irvine's law school.

She recognized one of them from a business law class she'd just spent about a half-hour observing. After breaking the ice by asking what kind of sandwich Nick Schuchert was eating (peanut butter and jelly), she casually offered both students some perspective about their three years of law school.

“I had a great time” as a third-year law student, Napolitano continued, recounting her experience as a University of Virginia law student in the 1980s.

Then, Napolitano was off to her next appointment.

Napolitano's down-to-earth charm and her quick wit were what faculty and staff said stood out to them during her first official visit to Orange County's only UC campus Monday.

Napolitano, former Homeland Security chief, began her tenure as president of the 230,000-student University of California system a month ago. She already has visited UC Merced, San Diego, UCLA, Santa Cruz and Davis.

She arrived at UC Irvine on Sunday afternoon, and all of her campus meetings were closed to the media. But in brief public remarks Monday afternoon, she characterized UC Irvine as a “wonderful” institution that had grown rapidly over its 48-year history. She praised the university's strong connections with local businesses.

“We're looking for other ways to build on that,” Napolitano said.

About 80 student activists on Monday attempted to enter a room where Napolitano was meeting, but were stopped inside the building's front lobby by campus police, UC Irvine spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon said.

During the disturbance, police canceled classes in the building because of safety concerns, Lawhon said. Some classes were held outdoors, she added.

The student activists said they never saw Napolitano during their protest.

“It's depressing,” said demonstrator Robert Wood, 38, a Ph.D. student in comparative literature. “One of the important legacies of the public university is supposed to be the ability for the students and workers to be able to express themselves politically.”

Peter Krapp, chairman of UC Irvine's Academic Senate faculty governing body, said he and others had initially been skeptical about the appointment of a career politician to head an elite academic institution. But after meeting with Napolitano, Krapp said his concerns vanished.

UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake and new UC President Janet Napolitano hustle to a closed-door meeting Monday on Napolitano's two-day tour of the Irvine university. MINDY SCHAUER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
New UC President Janet Napolitano stops to chat briefly with law student Kelsey Schreiberg, 22. The former Homeland Security chief was on a daylong tour of UC Irvine, meeting students and staff in mostly closed-door sessions Monday. MINDY SCHAUER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Janet Napolitano, former Homeland Security chief and new UC president, attracted about 80 student protesters Monday at one of her campus stops. The protesters said they never saw her. MINDY SCHAUER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Then-Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington in this file photo from April 23. Napolitano resigned from her Washington post to take the UC job. DOUG MILLS, NYT

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